Media Release

25 November 2019

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Labor has called the Climate Council’s finding that NSW is a renewable energy ‘loser’ embarrassing, highlighting the failure of the Liberals and Nationals to lead NSW’s renewable energy transition.

In the Climate Council’s 2019 State Of Play: Renewable Energy Leaders and Losers report, NSW lags behind most other jurisdictions – being ranked sixth out of the eight States and Territories.

Labor Leader in the Legislative Council and Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Adam Searle said the result was an embarrassment for NSW.

“This is a complete embarrassment for the Premier and for NSW. This shows that the Liberals and Nationals don’t have a plan for renewables in NSW. They are failing to deliver cheaper renewable energy to local households, and failing to capture the jobs boom renewable energy investment would bring” — Adam Searle MLC, Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy

Mr Searle said NSW has some of the best solar resources in the world, but of the 47 suburbs identified by the report where more than half of all households have solar installed, only 3 are in NSW.

In Australia, renewable energy generation has reached just 19 per cent, but NSW has fallen behind with only 17.3 per cent of renewables, and wind and solar contributing less than 9 per cent of the State’s overall energy mix.

Mr Searle said: “A key reason for NSW’s lack of progress is we’re one of only two States in Australia without a renewable energy target. The Liberals and Nationals should give the industry investment certainty and commit to a target.”

“A renewable energy target would drive billions of dollars of investment in NSW and create thousands of new, well-paying jobs.

“As our ageing fleet of coal fired power stations becomes increasingly unreliable, it is urgent that NSW develop a plan to ensure that reliable, affordable and dispatchable energy projects are built on time.”

The Climate Council’s series of annual reports has consistently shown NSW to be a poor performer on developing the clean, new energy sources we need for the next generation of electricity supply.